Portfolio Task Two

Paul Brandreth

Graphic Design Year One

 

Summarise the text Harrison, C and Wood, P. (eds.) (1997) “Art In Theory: 1900-90”, Oxford, Blackwell, pp. 125-9.

 

Avant-Garde became internationalised by the time of the First World War, to cities such as Berlin, Munich, Dresden, and Vienna and eventually developed in Italy and Russia. As the Avant-garde came about they started to move more towards cubism rather than a traditional French style. The three main elements of modern are modernization, modernity and modernism. Modernization meant the influence of the machine and scientific processes. Modernity refers to the social and cultural changes at the present moment, and modernism was a symbolic relationship from modernity.

 

            One response to the modern condition was that a section of people felt that the machine, such as German sociologist Max Webber who saw modernity as the “iron cage”, was controlling them. Others noticed how the modernization spread almost over night and Russian poet Alexander Blok described the acceleration of modernization as the “distant thunder”. Italian poet Marinetti brought the influence of symbolism, which was a new response to the age.

 

            Expressionism and Futurism were both responses to the urban modernity. Cubism however was seen more analytical and has now developed into post-avant-garde from the 19^th Century modern art to the 20^th Century with a new development of modern art. 

(Harrison, C and Wood, P) 1997 (Art In Theory : 1900 - 1990) Blackwell (Oxford-UK/ Massachusettes- USA) PP.125-129